We are a crafty bunch at East Side Books.  Kim, otherwise known as “Krafty Kim”, is an experienced basketmaker and recently dived head first into knitting and felting.  Diane is teaching cake decorating for the local 4H club this year, and is responsible for the wonderfully creative revolving seasonal decorations.  Lindsay is a gift food queen (don’t get me started on last Christmas’ caramel popcorn gift box), and I have my Be Lovely Creations bags and bookmarks available for sale at East Side Books.

As you can tell, we are eclectic crafters.  According to Wikipedia, the definition of crafting is “a skill, especially involving practical arts.”  I see crafting as a way over the centuries that women have woven bits and pieces of beauty into their daily lives whether it be a touch of hand embroidery on a dish towel, a quilt pieced together from old clothes, or home made cheese making.  Our Crafting Section at East Side Books reflects the eclectic nature of crafting with its depth and width of titles.  It was great fun for Kim and me to search through the crafting books to pull a few titles to highlight in this blog.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to confess that there are a few of those books that won’t be mentioned because they have made their way to my own personal shelves.  Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

But I left many excellent books for the rest of you. One of my favorite places to start when checking out craft books are the volumes of “collected crafts” that are often referred to as “country crafts.”  These types of books showcase a number of crafts.  I find that looking at several different project ideas inspires me to head in a whole new direction using the skills I have and adding a few more from the instructions given.  One excellent book of this type is called Traditional Country Crafts by Miranda Innes.  The sections on feltwork and painted ceramic pots are especially cool.  Another excellent volume is Classic Crafts edited by Martina Margetts.  There are wonderful chapters on rag rug making and papier mache.  I had no idea how creative paper mache could be until I looked at this book. Simple Gifts edited by Garden Way Publishing gives step-by-step instructions for making beautiful Shaker crafts.

If you are more interested in a specific crafting skill, check out our many subcategories within the Crafting Section.  We have books on everything from Origami to Stenciling to larger sections like Quilting, Needlepoint, and Cross-stitch.  If you are looking to make a special gift for a baby or toddler, check out A-B-C 1-2-3 Craft Book by Phyllis and Noel Fiarotta.  It contains easy to follow directions and pattern for cloth alphabet and number books for young children.  Kim showed me two beautiful basketmaking books called Handmade Baskets by Lyn Siler and A Modern Approach to Basketry by Dona Z. Meilach. Both made me want to leap into basketmaking. Our shelves contain a generous number of quilting, knitting, needlepoint, and cross-stitch titles.  Although some of the volumes are older, they are an excellent resource for answering questions about technique, offer great patterns, and provide general creative inspiration. Quiltmaking by Hand by Jinny Beyer is a wonderfully informative book with excellent technical descriptions as well as large, clear accompanying step-by-step photos.  For $9.00 you can purchase The Complete Book of Knitting by Barbara Abbey which will answer any question you will ever have about knitting.  Despite the dated cover, this book has over 200 timeless stitch patterns and illustrated pictures demonstrating all the fundamental steps of knitting you will need to complete a project.  Like knitting and embroidery, needlepoint and cross-stitch are making a comeback.  Needlepoint by Hilary More has wonderfully creative and updated needlepoint projects. You can find the perfect cross-stitch gift to create in the beautiful book Inspirational Cross-Stitch by the Bucilla Design Group. (If you are looking for craft supplies, we suggest you swing by Sierra Cottons and Wools on Highway 395 near The Highlands.  They specialize in stitchery of all kinds and carry excellent quality wools, cottons, and yarns as well as Barri’s wonderful original Bareroot patterns.  If you have never been, you are in for a treat.  Check them out at www.sierracottonsandwools.blogspot.com.)

I confess that I am a bit of a Grinch when it comes to the Christmas holidays, but even I fell headlong into our extensive Christmas Crafts shelves.  It is never too early to start thinking about Christmas, and have I can guarantee you that we have the holiday books to help you create a magical December season.  Again, don’t be turned off by books that seem outdated.  I found some of the best HO HO HO seasonal ideas in The Spirit of Christmas series. These books have especially good food recipes such as cheese pockets with bacon and pecans, and sausage and apple appetizers. (I think I might have to throw a party!)  Krafty Kim is a firm believer in the Christmas with Martha Steward Living series.  The book I browsed through was published in 2002, but looked like it could have been from the pages of her current magazine.  Whatever you may think about Martha, you have to admit that her style is classic and enduring.

The best piece of crafting advice I ever read was on a website of a professional quilter who sold wonderful and unique wall hangings.  She said that the reason she made the kind of work that she did was because she lacked the skills to do more precise, detailed quilting: she worked with the skills she had. (Sounds like a decent life philosophy as well…)  Following her advice saved me HOURS of crafting frustration.  Accepting that I am also not a detail oriented person, I now choose projects that give me a little room.  For example, when picking a knitting pattern I look for the magic words: NO GAUGE REQUIRED.  Where do your strengths and weaknesses lay when it comes to crafting?  Are you looking to improve your current skill set or head off into a new direction.  Come in and peruse our Craft Section; be inspired and find the perfect craft project for you.  If you need any assistance, be sure to ask our staff for help.

If you have a favorite crafting project, we would love if you shared it with us in the comment section below.  Come in and show us your latest completed craft–we’d love to see what you have been working on.

“Fill your page with the breathings of your heart.” –William Wordworth

I decided to be a writer when I was nine years old.  I was in the fourth grade and had discovered that books were magic. What better profession than to be the magician who put the words on the page.  I have started and stopped being a writer off and on for the last 30 plus years.  It is hard to shake your calling, but being a writer is dang hard.  Usually a non-profit activity, writing is often lonely and demoralizing. As Dorothy Parker quipped, “I hate writing. I love having written.” Much of the time I think to myself, “Shouldn’t I be doing something better with my time?”, but for some reason I keep getting drawn back to the allure of the flashing curser on an empty screen.  I guess it is the quest for the perfect sentence or poem or opening paragraph, or at least one better than the one I wrote before.  May Satron believes “…we write toward what we will become from where we are.”  Perhaps all writers are doing is searching for themselves.

“Every writer I know has trouble writing.” –Joseph Heller

Over the years, I have often turned to other authors for writing inspiration and advice.  Hands down the best writing teacher around is Natalie Goldberg.  Author of the books Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind among others, Goldberg believes that first and foremost you have to set aside the critical editor mind and get the words down on paper.  She calls it finding “beginner’s mind” and her technique is simple.  You pick a topic such as “elbows” or “junior high”, set a timer for 10 to 20 minutes, touch your pen to the paper, and GO!  Don’t stop writing or even pause to reread what you have written until the timer sounds.  Just keep writing as fast as you can even if you have to repeat the phrase “I don’t know what to write” over and over.  Believe me, this technique will work.  I have used it myself, and have taught “free writing” to third graders up to reluctant high school seniors.  You will find that in spite of yourself, there is always something there.  If you want to write but find you just can’t seem to get started, pick up one of Goldberg’s books, follow her instructions, and I guarantee you will be on your way.  (Also, don’t miss Goldberg’s memoir Long Quiet Highway. Although it is not a writing book, it is a beautiful retelling of her creative journey.)

“Talent is nothing but long patience.” –Gustave Flaubert

Most people have heard of Anne Lamott’s wonderful writing book Bird by Bird. Lamott incorporates some of Goldberg’s free writing techniques, but she also addresses issues of procrastination, the inner critic, and jealousy which she calls the “jungle drums” beating in her head.  Wise, witty, and painfully honest, Lamott acknowledges the trials of the writing life and encourages readers to push on to write that one last perfect draft.  (Lamott has also written a number of other books.  Operating Instructions, her collection of journal entries about the first year of her only son’s life, is wonderfully hilarious and terribly truthful.  She has written a number of essays about her spirituality collected in the books Traveling Mercies, Grace (Eventually), and Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith. Her novel Blue Shoe is a lovely quiet book that did not receive the attention it should have.)

“I don’t wait for moods.  You accomplish nothing if you do that.  Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.” –Pearl Buck

It is easy to image that one of the bestselling authors of all time was born naturally gifted and that his work was immediately recognized as brilliant and publishable, but as Stephen King writes in his excellent memoir On Writing about writing and his writing life, this is not the case.  King, the undisputed master of the horror genre, struggled for years, tenaciously putting pen to paper between shifts at a commercial laundry where he worked to support his young family.  Even now that he is famous and a guaranteed bestseller, King works every single day, writing ten pages or about 2000 words.  His philosophy is that you sit down and do it.  You sit down and write.  And when you are not writing, you read, a lot, to learn how to write better.

The above writing booking are quite popular and come in and out of East Side Books quickly.  If you are interested in one of these titles, ask for directions to the Writing Section, put your name and the title you are requesting on our Wants Lists, or if you are in a hurry, we can place a special order.

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” –Anton Chekhov

Now that you have spent the time at your desk putting thoughts on paper, it is time to reread your ramblings and give them some shape.  For some, present company included, this is the trickiest aspect of writing: how to take your ideas and images and turn them into something that is readable.  Fortunately, at East Side Books, we have a shelfful of writing manuals that teach techniques for working in different writing forms.  The Poet’s Handbook by Judson Jermone is a a resource that I turn to again and again.  Jermone covers the mechanics of poetry writing, the use of techniques such as alliteration and line division, and gives explanations of various fixed forms of poetry such as sonnets, villanelles, and sestinas.  If short stories are your thing, be sure to pick up the Handbook of Short Story Writing Volumes I and II published by The Writer’s Digest.  As a matter of fact, you can’t go wrong purchasing anything put out by The Writer’s Digest.  They are the best when it comes to dispensing sensible, clear, and usable writing advice.

“Being a writer is like having homework every night for the rest of your life.” –Lawrence Kasdan

Once you have revised your draft, it is important to edit your work carefully.  East Side Books has a number of handy grammar books that will make editing a breeze.  A popular grammar manual is Woe Is I by Patricia T. O’Conner.  Clever and fun (yes, I said “fun”!), this book explains much more clearly than Mrs. Grant, my 6th grade English teacher, the difference between a colon and a semicolon, the proper usage of “who’s” and “whose”, and just how to place those pesky apostrophes.  Whether you buy O’Conner’s book or another, no good writer should be without a solid grammar guide and a dictionary.  Eastside Books is well stocked in both.

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” –Richard Bach

Let’s face it, writing for writing’s sake is well and good, but most people have this hidden (or not so hidden) desire to be published.  It is human nature.  You create something you feel is beautiful and powerful or witty and delightful, and you want to share it with the world.  But the only thing you hear these days about getting published is that it is almost impossible.  And it is true, publishing houses receive thousands of unsolicited manuscripts each month.  On the other hand, if you eliminated all the books from Eastside Books that initially were rejected for publication, our shelves would be half empty.  Stephen King had a spike full of rejection letters nailed above his desk.  A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle was rejected by 26 editors before it was finally accepted and went on to win a Newbery Award.  The powerful novel Lord of the Flies, which is now taught in most high schools, was rejected 21 times.  John le Carre was told he had no future in writing. Tony Hillerman, who writes a bestselling mystery series set on reservations was told to “get rid of all the Indian stuff”.  Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone was rejected by a dozen publishers and the only reason Bloomsbury bought the book was because the CEO’s eight-year-old daughter who read the manuscript begged her father to print it.

You get the picture.  Manuscript submission is not for the faint of heart. It helps to have a tenacious, resilient spirit as well as a quality manuscript.  It also helps to know a bit about the ins and outs of manuscript submission.  East Side Books Writing Section is teeming with resources to help you find the best publishers for your work.  Again, any resource published by Writer’s Digest will get you on the right track.  I suggest that you pick up a Writer’s Market as a starting place.  A Writer’s Market gives you a categorized list of all the available publishers.  You do not even have to have the most current Writer’s Market–anything within the last five years or so will work.  Submission information changes so fast that even with the most current Writer’s Market, you still have to do an Internet search to double check the submission’s editor name or new changes in submission policies. It is even better if you can pick up a Writer’s Market specific to your area such as children’s writing or magazine writing.  The Way to Publish a Cookbook by Doris McFerran Townsend is a helpful guide to anyone interested in mixing their writing ability with cooking skills, and Writing for Children and Teenagers by Lee Wyndham is a great resource for learning to hone writing to a specific market.

It is of some debate whether or not writers have a better chance of being published if represented by a literary agents.  Agents can often leapfrog their client’s manuscripts over the gigantic slush pile of unsolicited manuscripts.  How to Be Your Own Literary Agent by Richard Curtis is one book that might help you get your own work looked at a little quicker than the rest.  East Side Books has a number of books about how to find a literary agent in our Writing Section.

“I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all.” –Richard Wright

If you have always wanted to be a writer, we, at East Side Books, encourage you to pick up a pen and let loose some words.  As Anais Nin said, “The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.”  If you are needing a little encouragement or guidance, visit our shelves today.  As always, our staff is happy to assist you find just the right book to fit your needs.  Who knows, someday we might be shelving a book written by you.

Additional Note:  There are two organized yearly writing challenges beginning November 1, 2010: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and November PAD Chapbook Challenge.  National Novel Writing Month is exactly what it says–the goal is to write a 175 page (50,000 word) novel during the month of November.  The challenged is geared toward helping writers–experienced or otherwise–get that rough draft on paper.  Over 165,000 writers participated last year.  For more information go to www.nanowrimo.org . The November PAD Chapbook Challenge is put on by Writer’s Digest.  The idea of this contest is to write a poem each day during the month of November.  Participants will have the month of December to revise and organize their November poems into a 10 to 20 page manuscript.  Manuscripts need to be submitted by January 5 and a winner will be selected.  Poets can post their poems along the way.  For more information go to www.writersdigest.com/poeticasides Click on November 2010 PAD Challenge.  You can also check out www.poetry.com for a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly cash prizes for poetry.

“September is like a quiet day after a whole week of wind.”

So begins Mildred Walker’s coming of age novel Winter Wheat set in the early 1940s in the great wheat country of central Montana.  Walker, a little know but beautiful writer, can capture the essence of a season in one sentence, and the rhythms of farm life in Montana in one book.

There is no group of writers that can capture the sense of landscape and the people who loved and battled that landscape better than the writers of the Western States.  And there in no better time than early fall as the cool air drifts down from the mountains and settles here in the valley to grab a few of these writers off the shelves and wrap their words around you like a blanket.

If unfamiliar with the writers of the Western States–Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming–there is no better author to begin your journey with than with Ivan Doig.  A frequent mention on lists of  “top ten favorite books of all time” is Doig’s novel Dancing at the Rascal Fair, the second in the trilogy about two Scottish immigrants who at the turn of the century struggle for survival on the brutal Montana frontier as they work to establish claims and build flocks of sheep.  Of course, you could also read the trilogy in order starting with English Creek and ending with Ride with Me, Mariah Montana.  Another fine and more recent novel of Doig’s is The Whistling Season.  He is also the author of several books of nonfiction, most notably This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind.

As good as Doig is, the undisputable king of the writers of the Western States is the master Wallace Stegner.  Stegner, who has been called the “dean of Western writers”  and taught emerging student writers such as Edward Abbey, Ernest Gaines, Thomas McGuane, and Raymond Carver, is best known for his novel Angle of Repose. This Pulitzer Prize winning work is the intertwined story of a historian researching and writing the history of his pioneer grandparents. Written in gorgeous prose, Angle of Repose has often been named the greatest novel ever written about the West.  Stegner was a prolific writer and some of his other popular titles are Crossing to Safety; my personal favorite The Big Rock Candy Mountain; and his nonfiction account of John Westly Powell’s running of the Colorado river entitled Beyond the Hundredth Meridian.

I would be remiss to write a blog about writers of the Western States without mentioning these two gentlemen, A.B. Guthrie and Norman Maclean, who both have left their mark amongst the bookshelves.  If Stegner was known for writing the greatest novel ever written about the West, then Guthrie was known for creating three of the most memorable characters of Western American literature in his epic adventure novel The Big Sky.  The story of three men who travel west and live as frontiersmen is as vivid and sweeping as the landscape it describes.  Norman Maclean, on the other hand, has produced only one slim novel in his lifetime.  One exquisitely beautiful and perfect novel called A River Runs Through It, a tale of family, fly fishing, and Montana.  This novel was brought to the big screen by Robert Redford.

If you are looking for more recent writers of the Western States look for work by Mary Clearman Blew who has written several memoirs and short story collections about Montana ranch life, and Mark Spragg who, among other works, wrote the novel An Unfinished Life that was turned into a movie starring Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, and weirdly enough, Jennifer Lopez.  (I guess Redford has a thing for Western writers also.)  If you haven’t read The Meadow by James Galvin, don’t miss this beautifully rendered story of ranch life along the Wyoming-Colorado border and the neighbors who share a meadow there.  Galvin’s chapters deftly flash back and forth over 100 years, and his writing is lyrical and artful. If you are seeking a little quality nonfiction, pick up Solace of Open Spaces by Gretel Ehrlich, her story of moving to a small ranch in Wyoming.  Ehrlich is an incredibly intelligent essayist who writes with such precision, beauty, and accessibility that you can lose yourself in her for hours.  Her young adult novel A Blizzard Year, set on a ranch in the Northern Rockies, is also excellent.

If you need any help locating the above mentioned books or are interested in similar titles, please don’t hesitate to ask our staff for assistance.  If we don’t have what you are looking for, we can always add your request to our Wants Lists or place a special order.

Attention all you homeschooling parents and parents interested in enriching your child’s current academic experience:

We, at East Side Books, are dedicated to providing you a wide variety of resources for teaching and learning that won’t break your bank account.

Owner Diane Doonan and East Side Books’ employee and experienced homeschooling parent Kim Busby have been working together to make teaching materials more readily accessible to homeschooling customers.  As Kim says, “When I was homeschooling my boys, I would have loved to have had a resource like East Side Books.  There is so much here.”  Recently, they created a section in the Children’s Room that is dedicated to augmenting homeschooling curriculum and encouraging learning enrichment.  Currently featured in this area is a wide selection of learning aids to teach math concepts and time, a collection of A Beka homeschooling texts, manuals on how to teach students to become better test takers, and a wide variety of Language Arts resources.

Kim, who homeschooled her two boys from grades K through 5th, is also available to customers as a “homeschool consultant”.   Wonderfully friendly and thoughtful, Kim is an enthusiastic font of information.  Lately she has been busy pulling together ideas for homeschooling units.  For example, she put together an excellent unit on Ancient Civilizations, a subject that is required by the California Standards to be taught in early Elementary and Junior High.  This unit includes several general resource texts such as The Roman Empire by Don Nardo. (It can be challenging to teach multiple grade levels all at once, as many homeschooling parents are, so Kim suggest teaching everyone the same subject by adjusting the material to ability and including texts that accommodate various reading levels.)  In her unit, she also included a copy of Hammond’s Atlas of World History, which, according to Kim, is “an invaluable resource that every learning household should have.  It has wonderful historical maps and illustrations of language development, and is so helpful when students are trying to envision the world as it once was.”  She also included a number of historical fiction novels that are set in ancient times.  One such book is The Rotten Romans by Terry Deary from the Horrible Histories Series.  Kim says that she is a “firm believer in historical fiction.  It really helps the history stick in kids’ heads.  Both my boys are really good at history and I read them a ton of historical fiction.”  Some of Kim’s favorite historical fiction for kids is By the Great Horned Spoon about the California Gold Rush, Tibaldo and the Hole in the Calendar by Abner Shimony, and anything by Scott O’Dell.  Check out our excellent children’s historical fiction section located in the Children’s Room.

This is an example of just one of the units Kim can help put together for interested customers.  There is so much to draw from at East Side Books that you could create a whole year of curriculum, or, depending on your needs, just find a book here and there to help augment the program you are already using.  We have books on all subject matters from preschool reading level to advanced.  Some books are as little as $1.00.  Kim recommends the history series The History of US by Joy Hakim.  She says this five book series is the very best history text ever.  “The standards are listed within the inside flap, which is very helpful.  The text is approachable and there is wonderful supporting materials in the back–maps, further reading lists.  I used this series with my boys starting in 3rd grade and as a review as they got older.”  Kim also recommends The Value Tales series by Ann Donegan Johnson.  “These books are back in print after being difficult to find for awhile.  I find this series charming and love the mix of historical information with morality lessons.”

We also have excellent resources for students who are looking for extra information on favorite subjects or research projects. Within the Children’s Room alone we have a Newbery Award winners’ section; a whole bookshelf of science books that cover subjects such as weather, experiments, the human body, botany, space and planets, and more; a large biography section; a whole shelf dedicated to California history; wonderful children’s arts and crafts books; and many shelves of Christian fiction for young and advanced readers plus a wide variety of children’s fiction and poetry for all ages.  We generally carry books that are required reading for English classes, and have many of the titles on the Battle of the Books list.  If you don’t see what you are looking for, please ask for help or add your request to our Wants List and we will keep an eye out for the books you interested in.  We can always place a special order as well.

And for you parents and teachers, we have a whole Homeschooling and Education section in the nonfiction room aimed at helping educators.  Some popular titles are the classic Christian homeschooling book Seasons of a Mother’s Heart by Sally Clarkson, The Christian Homeschool by Gregg Harris, and Homeschooling for Excellence by David and Micki Colfax.  We also carry Deschooling Gently by Tammy Takahashi who is the author of a popular homeschooling blog located at www.justenough.wordpress.com/2006/10/09/deschooling-gently/ .

Remember, our aim this Fall at Eastside Books is to get the word out that we are excited to provide you with a wide variety of learning and teaching resources that fit your bugdet.  Please don’t hesitate to ask for help–Kim or Diane are both eager to work with you to enrich your child’s learning experience.

It is the season of weddings.  Churches and parks are booked solid for the ceremonies and local caterers are scrambling to keep up with the demand. Whether you are needing some last minute wedding advice or the wedding season has inspired your significant other to pop the question and you want to get a jump on next year, we have the books to help you plan all aspects of your big day.

Your first stop should be our Wedding Section located in the nonfiction room on the low bookshelves across from Self Help.  Titles such as Signature Wedding by Michelle Rago and The Portable Wedding Consultant by Leah Ingram give a good overview of how to plan the details of your own special day from start to finish.  If you are interested in something a little different and over the top, check out Southern Weddings by Tara Guerard.  For those nervous grooms out there, The Everything Groom Book by Shelly Hagen will give some much appreciated guidance.  And especially helpful for us living in a remote setting, is Cyber Bride by Denise and Alan Fields.  Great advice on how to plan your wedding to start to finish with just a click of a mouse.

At the wedding, without a doubt, all eyes are going to be focused on the bride, and although we think you are FINE just the way you are, here are some great books to help you look and feel your best on the big day.  Pick up a copy of 911 Beauty Secrets by Diane Irons for a quick fix or check out Ageless Beauty by Steven Victor.  For slightly older bride, you might want to peruse Age Erasers for Women from the editors of Prevention Magazine. The Beauty Section is conveniently located adjacent to the Wedding Section.

Some brides (and grooms and mothers-of-the-brides and bride maids) like to shed a few pounds before the big day.  Again, we think you look GREAT, but if interested, diet books are located directly above the Beauty Section.  You can find a range of weight loss tomes including the sensible Eat More, Weigh Less by Dr. Dean Ornish, 30 day Revitalization Plan edited by Miriam Atkins, Make the Connection by Bob Greene and Oprah Winfred, and for a quick fix the Carbohydrate Addict 7-Day Plan by Drs. Rachel and Richard Hellers.

Speaking of eating, don’t forget to plan some goodies for your hordes of hungry guests after you have tied the knot.  Whether you are looking for some simple finger food to serve with champagne, an afternoon buffet, or a full sit down dinner, we have a whole Entertaining Cooking Section that is bursting with fresh and innovative ideas.  Even if you aren’t planning on creating the dishes yourself, books like the excellent The Minimalist Entertains by Mark Bittman or Great Good Food by Julie Rosso are a great resource for recipes to present to a caterer.  We also have books by Martha Stewart, the queen of entertaining and presentation.

After the hustle and bustle of putting on a wedding, how wonderful to escape on your honeymoon to get some much needed time with your new spouse.  In our Travel section you will fine travel books on far flung destination such as West Africa, Bolivia, Yugoslavia, London, and the Caribbean.  If you are planning a more local trip, we have guides on all parts of California as well as the rest of the United States.

But marriage isn’t really all about the wedding.  After the bouquets have dried, thank you notes written, and the souvenirs have been handed out, the real work begins.  If you are finding you need a little help with your relationship or just want to be prepared, stop by our Self-Help Section and look for titles in the Relationship subcategory.  Some excellent titles to begin with are The First Year by Monia Parker and 10 Things I wish I knew When I Got Married by Linda and Charlie Bloom.  Also helpful are the classics of relationships self-help Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus by John Gray and Keeping the Love You Find by Harville Hendrix.   Next to our Relationship section we even have a books on S-E-X.  Hard to pass up a book entitled 101 Nights of Great Sex by Laura Corn.

As always, please don’t hesitate to ask one of our friendly staff members for help if you need assistance.  We’d love to help you plan your big day!

If you turn on the news lately, you would seriously think our country is falling apart.  Between the economy and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the immigration issues and government infighting, things are discouraging.  But perhaps the upcoming Fourth of July holiday is an important reminder of what our country is really about, and time to reflect, between bites of potato salad and watermelon, just how very lucky we are.  When you are out picking up last minute sparklers and hot dog buns, swing by East Side Books to browse through some of the following titles to help get you into a patriotic mood.

A perfect starting place is the Colonial America and Revolution shelves of our extensive history section.  Check out Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow for an extensive biography of this important American figure.  Chernow writes that Hamilton was the “prophet of capitalist” and the most “impactful and influential American to never gained the presidency.”  Also in this section is A Few Bloody Noses by Robert Harvey, a controversial, myth busting tome that turns many American Revolution myths on their heads.

We have a great Presidents section.  Some popular titles are John Adams by David McCullough, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris, and My Life by Bill Clinton.  If you haven’t read All the President’s Men by reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, pick up a copy of the story responsible for unleashing the Nixon Watergate scandal and toppling a president.  Eastside Books also has a whole section devoted to books about John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln.  Let these great men inspire your own greatness.

But America wasn’t built just on the backs of men.  In our General America section you will find America’s Women: 400 years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines by Gail Collins.  This lively, enjoyable, and highly readable book traces the history of American women, highlights some important female figures, and is rich with inspirational quotes.  Also in this section you can find The Story of American Freedom by Eric Foner.  Foner gives an interesting historical perspective of what it means to be free to seek the American dream from the Colonial days to the Reagan era.

If browsing these sections on early American history get you fired up, be sure to check out our wide variety of books in the Slavery, Immigrants, 1900’s, Depression, and Civil Rights sections.

Regardless of your position on the use of military force, there is no denying that the freedoms gained and preserved in our country were achieved on the lives of our women and men in armed service.  We have an extensive War section covering WWI and WWII, Vietnam, the Korean War, and the Middle East conflict–because sometimes we need to read to remember and to learn.  In this section you can find Black Hawk Down by journalist Mark Bowden.  This “nonfiction novel” is his account of the U.S. mission to Somelia that went terribly wrong.  This book has been dubbed a modern military classic and was made into a movie.  (Read the book first!!)  Another book of war that you do not want to miss is The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien.  Vietnam veteran O’Brien writes a gripping part memoir, part novel, part short story collection about his military experience.  This book is truly unforgettable and can be found in our Fiction section.

Sometimes the most helpful reminder of the tremendous freedoms we do enjoy here in the United States is to read the stories of those from other countries who don’t have the same liberties.  Nowhere seems more oppressed right now than the country of Afghanistan.  Check out Greg Mortenson’s book Three Cups of Tea about his mission to build schools in neighboring Pakistan.  Although they are novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini give a gripping account of life in Afghanistan.  Both are beautifully written as well as powerful and memorable—not to be missed.  In our memoir section pick up the very readable Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of Cultural Revolution by Ji-Li Jiang and A Long Way to Go: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah.  If you want a book that will truly change how you see your life, read Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza.

If you have any questions or need help locating any of the above titles, please don’t hesitate to ask one of our staff members.  We are also happy to place special orders.

From all of us at East Side Books, have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

School is out for the summer.  Nine weeks of freedom for the kids.  Reading is an excellent antidote for busy summer activities.  Encourage your children to grab a book during the quiet morning hours before the day is in full swing or to take a much needed late afternoon break with a novel in a backyard blanket fort.  Summer reading helps prevent the dreaded summer vacation brain drain.  The Bishop Library is sponsoring a summer reading program for kids (ages preschool to twelve).  Drop by the library to register and get a reading log.  Stickers are rewarded along the way when children present their reading lists to the librarians.  Program end July 31 with a party and prizes.  Call 760-873-5115 for more information.

Below are some excellent book choices for children of all ages.  (Adults might even enjoy rereading some old favorite.)  Titles available at East Side Books. And remember, if you ever need help finding something, ask our staff for assistance.  We also can place special orders if you don’t find what you are seeking.

IF YOU LIKE…

For young readers who have zipped through the Junie B. Jones series and are yearning for another fictional character to be their alter ego of naughty behavior, check out the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary.  Ramona is the original early elementary school rascal.  Ramona the Pest and Ramona the Brave are an excellent place to start.  Look for all of Cleary’s book on the Middle Reader bookshelves in the Children’s Room.

What do we do now that the Harry Potter series is finished???  Although there is no real replacement for the Hogswarts crowd, fans might be interested in checking out the excellent Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.  Lewis’s popular seven book series appeals to readers of all ages.  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to begins the adventure.  Equally appealing is the five book series by Madeline L’Engle that begins with the wonderful A Wrinkle In Time.  (By the way, L’Engle was the mother of four children and often could only find time to write late at night where she would fall asleep draped over her typewriter.)  Complete sets and individual books of both of these series can be found in the Children’s Series section.  More advanced readers might enjoy The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkiens.  Well written and wildly imaginative, Tolkiens has almost a cult following. Ask for assistance finding Tolkiens’ novels.

SERIES THAT ARE CLASSICS…

Boys especially can’t help but be drawn into the “Brian” series by Gary Paulsen.  Starting with Hatchet and continuing on with Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Return, and Brian’s Hunt, Paulsen writes in clear, simple language about a young boy’s attempt to survive in the wilderness after a plane crash.  A consistently good writer that appeals to boys, check out Paulsen’s other titles outside the series as well.  Look for him in East Side’s Middle Reader and Young Adult sections.

Girls (and boys) alike will love Laura Ingalls Wilder‘s stories of her childhood as her family struggles as homesteaders.  We offer complete series and individual copies of the Little House on the Prairie nine book series.  For slightly older readers, the L.M. Montgomery eight book series are a must read. The title book is the much loved Anne of Green Gables. It is impossible to stop once you start this series so you might as well just buy the whole set at once.

FOR MIDDLE READERS…(ages 7 to 14)

Judy Blume No other children’s writer can write about coming-of-age issues with as much grace, humor, and style as Judy Blume.  She is most famous for Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret, but other excellent reads are Freckle Juice, Blubber, and the Fudge series that include Superfudge, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, and Sheila the Great among other titles.  Blume’s books can be located in the Middle Reader section as well as the Young Adult section.

E.L. Konsigsburg An excellent children’s writer who is often overlooked, Konsigsburg’s books are wonderfully clever with unpredictable plot twists and characters you wish were your kids’ best friends.  Appealing to both boys and girls, check out From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and The View from Saturday.

Louise Fitzhugh It is easy to love Harriet the Spy by Fitzhugh, the tale of a young girl who records her thoughts and observations in a notebook. Notebook entries are noted in bold capital letters giving the book great reading appeal and breaking up the text for new readers. Equally as good, but often skipped is Fitzhugh’s follow up book The Long Secret.

Andrew Clement A strong writer who appeals to boys, Clement is the author of Frinde, A Week in the Woods, and Lunch Money.  Clement writes in an easy manner, has themes that appeal to all ages, and his books tend to be short–a great choice for reluctant older readers.  His books can be found in the Middle Reader section and the Young Adult section.

Last, but not least, the master Roald Dahl It is hard to resist Dahl.  Slightly naughty, slightly gross, wildly imaginative, and always unpredictable, Dahl is like no other.  You can’t go wrong with the classics James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but for a complete Dahl experience, enjoy his lesser known works such as Danny Champion of the World, The Witches, and The BFG. (Adults and young adult readers should check out Dahl’s short story collections.  Twisted and clever, they will linger in your memory.)

East Side Books has an extensive Middle Reader selection in the Children’s Room.  We are happy to give recommendations depending on your reader’s interest and ability. (In fact, we LOVE giving recommendations!)

Also, check out our section of Newbery Medal winners for children’s fiction located at the beginning of the Children’s Series section.  There is a reason these books have won an award.  Some titles not to miss are: The Giver and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, Missing May by Cynthia Rylant, Manic Magee by Jerry Spinelli, Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George, The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, and  Johnny Tremain by Ester Forbes.

FOR THE TEENAGER IN YOUR HOUSE…

Teenagers may not always be receptive to suggestions, but if you give your favorite teen one of these titles, you have a chance of avoiding scorn and maybe even invoking a “thank you.”  Find the below suggestions in our Young Adult section.

Louis Sachar Author of the award winning book Holes and the sequel Small Steps, Sachar is a good choice for reluctant readers.  His characters have a knack for making mistakes with big consequences, and Sachar has a knack for teaching through his stories her that mistakes and people are redeemable.

Jerry Spinelli If know a teenager who hasn’t yet read Stargirl, you should run down to East Side Books right now and pick up a copy.  But before you give it away, you should read it yourself.  Spinelli’s story of a girl who isn’t afraid to be herself will make you want to go back to high school and do it all over again.  Spinelli is a prolific writer who has many excellent titles in both the Middle Reader and Young Adult sections.

Alice Hoffman Hoffman is know primarily as an adult author, but she is quite prolific as a Young Adult author.  Her books tend to mix up fantasy, reality, and mysticism in an appealing brew that truly transports readers to a new place.  Some of her Young Adult titles are Green Angel, The Foretelling, and Indigo.

Carl Hiaasen Hiassen is also known for his adult novels, but his recent foray into Young Adult fiction netted him a Newbery Honor Book award for Hoot. He has also written Scat and Flush. All his work carries an environmental theme that appeals to kids who care for the natural world.

Lois Duncan If your teen is looking for a little something to give him or her shivers on a hot summer day, give them a copy of I Know What You Did Last Summer. Scary, without being graphic or gory, Duncan’s classic is sure to please.  Some of her other titles are Down a Dark Hole, Ransom, and Summer of Fear.

Laurie Hasle Anderson This is an author who isn’t afraid to tackle tough issues, and she does it with great skill and success.  Parents and teens alike would benefit from reading her award winning book Speak about the fall out of date rape as well as Wintergirls which deals with the issue of eating disorders. Her historical fiction novel Fever 1793 is excellent also.

Cynthia Voigt Although Voigt’s series about Dicey Tillerman can be a bit heavy emotionally, these books tend to appeal to those wrapped up in their own teenage angst. Voigt doesn’t spare any punches that life can be hard and not always work out as planned.  The series starts with Homecoming, but each book stands on its own so the series does not need to be read in order.  Dicey’s Song and A Solitary Blue are award winners.

We would love to know if you have read any great children’s literature lately.  And remember, we are always happy to assist if you need help finding a title or would like to place a special order.